Steeped in history, the Cowboy Trail is a scenic route through Canada’s Rocky Mountain Foothills, along Highway 22.
Start in Calgary, Alberta’s largest city and the gateway for most travellers from the UK, and head south, towards Waterton Lakes National Park and the US border. As you travel through authentic ranch towns and small rural communities, a wide variety of western themed and cultural experiences await, such as horseback trail rides, farm and ranch stays and historic site visits.
Below are five unmissable stops on, or a short side trip off, the Cowboy Trail that should be on every traveller’s list.
Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village
Discover the glory days of the past on this open-concept, outdoor heritage facility that extends over six acres. Home to a Western Canadian frontier village, through a self-guided tour you will step back in time as you explore an impressive array of more than 30 historical buildings, each furnished with period furniture, including ranch houses, cabins, barns, a blacksmith shop and a NWMP (North-West Mounted Police) outpost. The displays contain a selection of authentic artifacts and everyday tools, which visually recreate forgotten stories from bygone times.
Boundary Ranch
Horseback rides, huskey-led cart tours, voyageur adventures, western barbecues and steak lunches, whichever you choose, Boundary Ranch is an exceptional location to immerse yourself in the spirit of the ‘real west’. Open year round providing seasonal activities (100 horses and a small herd of buffalo call Boundary Ranch home), it is owned by a local family, whose long entrepreneurial history in the area goes back to over 100 years ago. Set in an enviable location in the Canadian Rockies, it is the perfect stop on the Cowboy Trail to experience great western hospitality coupled with a strong connection to history and tradition.
Eau Claire Distillery
Did you know that Canada had its own version of the Prohibition? Nestled in some of the most stunning foothills scenery in Alberta, today the idyllic Turner Valley is a far cry from the wild frontier town that it was in the 1920s, with a booming trade of speakeasies, illegal whisky trade and illicit activities. For a glimpse into Turner Valley’s chequered past head to Whisky Row and visit Eau Claire Distillery, Canada’s most awarded craft distillery: it is housed in a retro movie theatre and dance hall and offers guided tours, where you will discover more about Alberta’s place in Prohibition history.
Remington Carriage Museum
The largest museum of its kind in the world, the Remington Carriage Museum tells the story of horse-drawn transportation in North America. It started with a donation of 48 carriages from a local man who restored and collected horse-drawn vehicles and has now grown into a fine collection of over 330 vehicles. The multi-award winning museum features interactive displays, horses, carriages, wagons and a stable. At the working restoration shop you can find out more about the ‘lost arts’ of blacksmithing, wheelwrighting and woodworking, while carriage rides are available to book in the summer months.
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
Canada’s indigenous people in southwestern Alberta practised a form of group hunting for nearly 6,000 years before European contact; in fact, the large communal bison traps of the Plains are considered as the single greatest food-getting method developed in human history. One of the best places to learn about this millennia-old tradition is the UNESCO-protected Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, whose deep archaeological deposits are still intact. Its Interpretive Center is built into sandstone cliffs over seven levels, with a network of hiking trails below and above the cliffs.
